IB English Paper 1 Guide: Strategies, Tips and Techniques

1. All materials such as worksheets, textbook copies, other documents, etc. used in lessons by NTK teachers, whether distributed to students as part of an all-inclusive course fee or purchased separately constitute the valuable, intellectual property of NTK Academic Group (“NTK”) and may not be photographed, copied, scanned or reproduced, distributed or shared with other parties without the prior written consent of NTK.
2. NTK teachers are only permitted to teach and provide educational services at NTK’s Learning Centers. NTK’s students, parents or guardians must not solicit or make private arrangements with NTK’s teachers for tuition or contact NTK’s teachers directly outside of lesson hours. Any queries relating to scheduling and payment should be raised with NTK’s front desk staff.
3. NTK’s teachers are not allowed to give their personal contact information to, or to meet students, their parents or guardians outside of NTK premises. NTK teachers who have resigned or left NTK for any reason are not permitted to contact or provide lessons to NTK students within 10 months of leaving NTK’s employment. If you would like to contact an NTK teacher for any reason, please approach our front desk staff or email enquiry@ntk.edu.hk.
4. To ensure that private lessons / private groups are conducted effectively, it is paramount that students and parents communicate clearly and early with NTK front desk staff if there are any topics or specific areas on which a student requires particular focus. NTK expects the student to make this known to NTK upon enrolment or at least one working day before the commencement of the lesson. NTK cannot be responsible for a lesson failing to match the student’s expectations if such information is not provided in a timely manner. NTK teachers are prepared to adapt their teaching to accommodate a particular syllabus or materials but will otherwise prepare lessons and strengthen core content with selected materials.
5. Diagnostic test fees will be rebated for those students who book at least four lessons in the corresponding subject(s) up to one month after the diagnostic test date.
6. NTK allocates students to teaching schedules on a “first-come, first-served”, confirmation-by-payment policy. NTK reserves the right either to release to other students or to cancel outright any offer of lessons which have only been reserved verbally or in respect of which the relevant payment confirmation deadline has passed. Full payment must be received prior to the indicated deadline. All lesson enquiries and bookings should be made through the front desk. Students and parents should check emails regularly for announcements and notifications from NTK.
7. NTK programmes, whether structured class modules or individual private lessons, are designed as progressive courses of study and NTK does not accept bookings for lessons on a “trial” basis or on lesson-by-lesson basis. Students are recommended to attend at least one month of lessons in any individual subject to achieve maximum benefit. Students are required to enrol in all lessons for a particular month or module, depending on course type. Subject to availability, mid-course enrolment may be permitted, provided that the student enrols in all the remaining lessons for the month or module.
8. A minimum enrolment of 2 students is required for any course to commence and NTK reserves the right to cancel a course in the event of insufficient enrolment, in which case the student will be offered a transfer to another suitable course or enrolment in a private lesson upon payment of the price difference. Refunds will be issued if there is no suitable course or private lesson available. Teachers are assigned to courses at the discretion of NTK, subject to course demand and teacher availability.
9. Courses are enrolled on a monthly basis. Students must enroll in all classes scheduled for each course in a given month. If a student is unable to attend class, the missed class can be rescheduled as a private lesson. However, the difference in fees must be paid.
10. Payment for booked lessons must be settled by the stated deadline. Where lessons are booked to be taken in the same month then payment is required within normal business hours on the day of booking. Where lessons are booked to be taken immediately, i.e. “same-day” basis then a HK$200 surcharge will be applied. NTK does not provide refunds where a student desires to cancel or withdraw from booked lessons but will apply any unused credit balance towards the cost of alternative lessons in the same calendar month.
11. Regular timeslots will be reserved only if a student books at least three classes in the same month with the same teacher and timeslot. During boarding and peak holiday periods, regular timeslots may be adjusted based on course arrangement needs.
12. During summer term enrolment, lesson prices will be applied based on the grade / level that the student will be entering in the next following academic year.
13. For students enrolling into a private group lesson, they should have confirmed the schedule among themselves. If one or more student drops out from the lesson, the remaining student will have the lesson as a private individual lesson. Price difference may incur for this situation.
14. Lessons reserved with NTK are personal to the student and non-transferable. Switching lessons with other students, whether friends or family members, is not permitted. NTK reserves the right to discontinue a student’s enrolment at any time due to late payment or disruptive behaviour in class.
15. NTK does not offer make-up classes or refunds for missed classes due to a student’s inability to attend for reasons such as school activities, field trips, schedule conflicts, or (unless a doctor’s note is provided and the make-up lesson is rescheduled to an available time slot within 7 calendar days of the corresponding lesson) sickness. Parents and students are responsible for checking their schedules carefully before signing up. In case of sickness, students need to inform NTK of their likely absence at least 3 hours before the scheduled lesson by telephone or email.
16. Lesson rescheduling is subject to the following conditions:

*Exclusive of lesson day; rescheduling must be confirmed with NTK.

• The time, date and teacher of the rescheduled lesson is assigned by NTK (we will arrange an appropriate teacher of the same subject specialisation; we regret that rescheduling times will be limited and final).
• Only students currently enrolled at NTK and registered for the particular class they are attending may be present in the lesson. Unregistered students, friends, and family members may not attend the lesson without pre-approved permission.
• If the course fees of the original lessons are more than that of the rescheduled lessons, the difference will be forfeited.
• Lesson scheduling is offered at the complete discretion of NTK.
• Rescheduled lessons must be confirmed on the same day of request made. The rescheduled lesson must be within the same month as the original lesson.

16. NTK shall not be liable for any failure to conduct the whole or any part of an online lesson resulting directly or indirectly from disruption of internet service, defective third-party hardware or software.
17. Assignments set by NTK teachers are an integral part of a student’s learning experience. Students are expected to complete all assignments, including assigned readings and homework. Parents and guardians are responsible for making sure the student completes all assignments at home. Where NTK teachers identify work of outstanding quality NTK encourages students to permit reference to their work for educational or promotional purposes.
18. Where students’ work draws from materials provided by NTK and relevant publicly available resources then this must be acknowledged by provision of appropriate references. Plagiarism (wrongfully appropriating another’s work or ideas and presentation it as one’s own) is a serious breach of academic honesty and NTK rules. Students are expected to submit assignments and work free from plagiarism and any students whose work is found to contain plagiarised material, whether from fellow students or public resources, will face serious consequences. NTK Academic Group will not be held responsible for any consequences of student plagiarism. The use of AI software for academic writing is considered to be plagiarism.
19. A progress report will be provided as part of the course fee at the end of each term or month for students who attend four or more lessons. Any additional reports or special requests may be subject to an additional charge.
20. An administration fee will be charged for each reference letter issued by the School. Requests should be made to one of our Education Service Officers.
21. All lessons at NTK will be cancelled upon the hoisting of a Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal of 8 or above, or if the Black Rainstorm Warning is raised. Under certain “extreme conditions” caused by super typhoons, such as serious disruption of public transport services, extensive flooding, major landslides or large-scale power outage, the Government will review the situation (including public transportation and other aspects). Announcement will be made before the Hong Kong Observatory replaces Typhoon Signal No. 8 with Typhoon Signal No. 3 on whether the “extreme conditions” apply and warrant the issuance of an announcement on “extreme conditions”. Classes will resume two hours after the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal is reduced to a lower signal or if the Black Rainstorm Warning is cancelled or replaced by the Amber or Red Rainstorm Warning during our opening hours, or when “extreme conditions” are no longer in force (i.e. the two-hour period after cancellation of Typhoon Signal No. 8). No make-up classes or refunds will be granted due to weather or other acts of nature beyond our control.
22. On the occasion where a refund is issued by the School, NTK reserves the right to charge an administrative fee of 5% from the refund amount to cover the clerical, administrative and banking costs related to the transaction(s).
23. For the safety of students / parents, NTK reserves the right to suspend lessons in view of any unexpected or emergency situations. Lessons affected will be rescheduled within the same month.
24. To ensure safety of students during unexpected circumstances such as the COVID-19 outbreak and incidents of social unrest, NTK may switch the lesson modes from in-person to online learning. In such cases, students are expected to attend the scheduled lessons and no make-up lessons would be arranged for the absentees.
25. For safety, security and other relevant reasons, CCTV cameras are in operation within the school campus including but not limited to the customer service area, waiting areas, classrooms, corridors, and study areas. NTK shall not be held responsible for personal injuries, accidents, losses and damages, whether to personal property and effects or to computer hardware or computer files, incurred by any student while at NTK premises or logged into NTK computer networks. Furthermore, all company telephone calls are recorded for quality assurance and safety purposes.
26. Lesson observation / recording of lessons may be arranged to ensure lesson quality.
27. During lessons, electronic devices including mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, and laptops must only be used for academic or urgent purposes only. If a student refuses to halt using their device for inappropriate purposes, the teacher may stop the lesson and report the student to their parent or guardian.
28. NTK shall not be liable for any loss, damages, charges or expense, whether direct or indirect, which may be incurred by parents and students arising from or in any way connected with NTK Academic Group.
29. All students of NTK are supervised by staff during their lesson time(s) upon entry and exit of our campuses. NTK staff are not responsible for the supervision of students before or after their lessons. Parents/Guardians are to be aware that NTK shall not be liable for any students’ actions before their entry to and after their exit from NTK campuses.
30. Photographs and videos may occasionally be taken by NTK during lessons for educational or promotional purposes, in which case NTK reserves all rights to images and footage.
31. The interpretation of these policies shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Disputes arising out of or in connection with this legal notice shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Hong Kong SAR.
32. NTK reserves the right to amend its policies without prior notice. (Note: If there is any discrepancy between the English and Chinese versions, the English version shall prevail.)